H-1B Visa Update: Trump Slaps $100K Fee On Work Permits For Indians, Other Countries, Says 'Need Only The Great Workers'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order introducing a $100,000 application fee for H-1B visas in a bid to aiming to reduce 'overuse of the program'.

“We need great workers, and this pretty much ensures that that's what's going to happen,” Trump said from the Oval Office while signing the order.

Further, White House officials noted that measure is designed to encourage companies to prioritise hiring American workers, but at the same time allow to hire highly skilled foreign workers in specialised fields.

The proclamation will restrict entry under the program unless accompanied by the payment, a White House official said ahead of the signing.

Speaking on the topic, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said,“So no longer will you put trainees on an H-1B visa.”

“That it's just not economic anymore. If you're going to train people, you're going to train Americans. ... If you have a very sophisticated engineer and you want to bring them in ... then you can pay $100,000 a year for your H-1B visa.”

Since assuming office in January, Trump has launched a sweeping immigration crackdown, including moves to limit some forms of legal immigration. The step to reshape the H-1B visa program represents his administration's most high-profile effort yet to rework temporary employment visas.

India accounts for most H-1B visas

The H-1B program offers 65,000 visas annually to employers bringing in temporary foreign workers in specialised fields, with another 20,000 visas for workers with advanced degrees. Under the current system, entering the lottery for the visa requires a small fee and, if approved, subsequent fees could amount to several thousand dollars.

India was the largest beneficiary of H-1B visas last year, accounting for 71% of approved beneficiaries, while China was a distant second at 11.7%, according to government data.

In the first half of 2025, Amazon and its cloud-computing unit, AWS, had received approval for more than 12,000 H-1B visas, while Microsoft and Meta Platforms had over 5,000 H-1B visa approvals each.

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